This was at least the fourth mention of Natives on Up All Night, including two Native appearances. That's a fine record for a show that lasted only two seasons.
Below: Christina Applegate, who played Reagan.
Showing posts with label Up All Night. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Up All Night. Show all posts
December 12, 2013
Navajo time in Up All Night
An episode of the canceled comedy Up All Night, titled Hey Jealousy (airdate: 4/5/12) had another Native bit. Reagan and her co-worker Luke are talking awkwardly while they wait for a conference call. Reagan, who is almost babbling, says the following:REAGAN: Arizona doesn't observe daylight savings except for the Navajo Nation that's there. And I...tend to side with the Navajos. Because, say all you want...they were here first. We...took the land from them. Comment: That's a reasonably accurate statement. Even though it's simple, it's not something you hear often on network TV.
This was at least the fourth mention of Natives on Up All Night, including two Native appearances. That's a fine record for a show that lasted only two seasons.
Below: Christina Applegate, who played Reagan.
This was at least the fourth mention of Natives on Up All Night, including two Native appearances. That's a fine record for a show that lasted only two seasons.
Below: Christina Applegate, who played Reagan.
December 13, 2012
Native sheriff in Up All Night
In Thursday's episode of Up All Night, titled First Snow (airdate: 12/13/12), Chris and Reagan drive into the mountains to show daughter Amy her first snow. Having failed to go to the bathroom when they had the chance, they stop by the side of the road to pee in the bushes. Just then, a sheriff pulls up behind them.
He waits until they return to their car, then leans toward the window:SHERIFF: You desecrated an ancient burial grounds with your disrespectful waste.
[Chris and Reagan babble excuses.]
SHERIFF: Just kidding! This is the side of the road. Nobody's buried here.
[Chris and Reagan laugh in relief.]
SHERIFF: But you're still getting a ticket for public urination. As he walks away, we see the sheriff has a single long braid down his back. He's obviously meant to be an Indian.
IMDB says the character's name is Officer Littlejohn. He's played by actor Miguel Nájera, who describes himself as Chicano/Native.
This is a small but good scene. It shows how you can integrate Indians into everyday life. We get a bit of Native lore, a bit of Native humor--but not at the expense of the Indian--and a visual cue.
But it's not forced. The sheriff isn't even identified as an Indian. The subtle message is that Indians still exist and are just regular people.
For more on Up All Night, see Thanksgiving in Up All Night and Pete Littlebear in Up All Night.
He waits until they return to their car, then leans toward the window:
[Chris and Reagan babble excuses.]
SHERIFF: Just kidding! This is the side of the road. Nobody's buried here.
[Chris and Reagan laugh in relief.]
SHERIFF: But you're still getting a ticket for public urination.
IMDB says the character's name is Officer Littlejohn. He's played by actor Miguel Nájera, who describes himself as Chicano/Native.
This is a small but good scene. It shows how you can integrate Indians into everyday life. We get a bit of Native lore, a bit of Native humor--but not at the expense of the Indian--and a visual cue.
But it's not forced. The sheriff isn't even identified as an Indian. The subtle message is that Indians still exist and are just regular people.
For more on Up All Night, see Thanksgiving in Up All Night and Pete Littlebear in Up All Night.
November 17, 2012
Thanksgiving in Up All Night
In the Thanksgiving episode of Up All Night (airdate: 11/15/12), Reagan and Chris Brinkley are stuck at home for the holiday. Among the guests who show up for their unplanned feast are Gene and Terry, the Brinkleys' obnoxiously upbeat neighbors.
Gene and Terry are the types who celebrate a holiday to the point of overkill. They want to dress up the Brinkleys' table with autumn-themed decorations. They also plan to wear their "traditional" Pilgrim's hat and Indian chief's headdress.
The headdress is the cheap plastic kind that hangs almost to the floor. Gene is seated at the table and wearing it when the Brinkleys announce the turkey has failed and "gone to be with Jesus." He has to take it off.
Soon the group is ordering pizza at a nearby Sneaky's. Chris notes that they could've been having dinner with his relatives in Maryland, including a politically incorrect uncle:CHRIS: You know what? Maryland Thanksgiving isn't perfect either.
REAGAN: Well, at least we don't have some vaguely racist guy in the background--
GENE [doing a fake war dance down the aisle in his headdress]: Hey-ya-ya-ya! Hey-ya-ya-ya-ya! Hey-ya-ya-ya!
GENE [stops in front of the other guests and raises one hand in greeting]: How!...'s about some pizza? [He laughs at his own lame joke.] Comment: This is exactly the right way to present offensive stereotypes in a comedic format. You show them in all their ugliness...but with an ignorant or buffoonish character responsible for them. Then you have a more enlightened character comment on them--saying why they're wrong in some disapproving way.
That way, we're not laughing with the stereotyper as if his actions are acceptable. We're laughing at him because he's a clueless idiot. Nothing signifies that the stereotypes are legitimate or funny or something we should tolerate.
For more on the subject, see Thanksgiving in This Is America, Charlie Brown and Pete Littlebear in Up All Night.
Below: The Thanksgiving meal at Sneaky's.
Gene and Terry are the types who celebrate a holiday to the point of overkill. They want to dress up the Brinkleys' table with autumn-themed decorations. They also plan to wear their "traditional" Pilgrim's hat and Indian chief's headdress.
The headdress is the cheap plastic kind that hangs almost to the floor. Gene is seated at the table and wearing it when the Brinkleys announce the turkey has failed and "gone to be with Jesus." He has to take it off.
Soon the group is ordering pizza at a nearby Sneaky's. Chris notes that they could've been having dinner with his relatives in Maryland, including a politically incorrect uncle:
REAGAN: Well, at least we don't have some vaguely racist guy in the background--
GENE [doing a fake war dance down the aisle in his headdress]: Hey-ya-ya-ya! Hey-ya-ya-ya-ya! Hey-ya-ya-ya!
GENE [stops in front of the other guests and raises one hand in greeting]: How!...'s about some pizza? [He laughs at his own lame joke.]
That way, we're not laughing with the stereotyper as if his actions are acceptable. We're laughing at him because he's a clueless idiot. Nothing signifies that the stereotypes are legitimate or funny or something we should tolerate.
For more on the subject, see Thanksgiving in This Is America, Charlie Brown and Pete Littlebear in Up All Night.
Below: The Thanksgiving meal at Sneaky's.
October 05, 2011
Pete Littlebear in Up All Night
In the fourth episode (airdate: 10/5/11) of the new TV series Up All Night, Reagan and Chris Brinkley seek a new car. One evening they get drunk and apparently bid on a vehicle online.
The next day, an Indian appears at their door. He identifies himself as Pete Littlebear and gives them the keys to his van.
He's wearing a vest and a bandana, so he looks like a stereotypical Apache. He speaks in a slow, sonorous voice, which is what passes for Native these days.
He's played by Eloy Casados, a veteran actor who's played Indians as well as Latinos before. I don't know Casados's heritage, but he may be Native or part Native.
The van
The van is painted copper and turquoise--you know, Indian colors. It has a dreamcatcher hanging from the rearview mirror. Littlebear says two of his children were born in it--on a birthing blanket--which kind of disgusts the Brinkleys.
Littlebear walks off before they can object to the sale. When they look again, he's vanished. They hear the eerie sounds of a flute and a screeching hawk, and see a hawk-like bird fly off. A bit stunned, Reagan says Littlebear has shapeshifted.
They take the van, intending to trade it in for a better vehicle. Chris says he tried to call Littlebear's daughter. He didn't quite understand, but thinks she said her father has been dead for 30 years.
How to do it right
This episode (titled New Car) isn't trying to poke fun at Indians, but it uses a number of stereotypes nonetheless. It partly plays on the Brinkleys' ignorance, which is fair game. But it's mostly evidence of the show's ignorance of Indians.
What do we learn? That Indians do crude things such as give birth in vans. That they can potentially shapeshift. That they're akin to spirits: ghosts of the past that still walk the earth.
Here's how the same scene could've gone:
Lose the stereotypical "Indian" attire and voice. A long-haired man named Pete Littlebear is enough to establish the character as an Indian.
Play with the van's origin. For instance:
REAGAN: So that's your rez wagon. Your NDN car. Fighting the good fight since Alcatraz and Wounded Knee.
PETE: Nah, I bought it from some hippie freaks three years ago.
Lose the dreamcatcher and birthing bit. Play with the van's use another way. For instance:
PETE: I hope you don't mind a little blood in back.
REAGAN (shocked): You didn't perform any, um, sacrificial rite there, did you?
CHRIS: Reagan! That's a crude stereotype!
CHRIS: Your old lady didn't give birth there, did she?
PETE: Nah, I own a buffalo ranch in Arizona. I had to haul a few carcasses here, and they dripped.
REAGAN (squeamishly): Oh, well. That's a lot better.
See? That would be just as funny, if not a lot funnier. It would contradict the stereotypes while establishing the Indian as a modern businessman.
Littlebear the spooky Indian
Modify the shapeshifting bit. Have Littlebear disappear, but don't use the stereotypical music or bird. Have the Brinkleys react like this:
CHRIS: Where'd he go?
REAGAN (nervously): You don't think he shapeshifted, do you?
They look around and see a dog, cat, squirrel, and bird that appear to be staring at them. Ominous but non-Native music plays in the background.
When they see a toy animal seemingly giving them the eye, they try to shake off their feeling of dread.
CHRIS: No, that's just another stereotype. I think.
REAGAN: Right. We're just being silly.
See? This plays on the Brinkeys' doubts and fears more directly. And it lessens the implication that the Indian actually shapeshifted.
Modify the "dead for 30 years" bit. For instance:
REAGAN: Did you get hold of his daughter? What did she say?
CHRIS: Something about his being gone for 30 years.
REAGAN: He's been dead for 30 years?! Holy...spirit!
CHRIS: Not dead, gone. Apparently he was a rock 'n' roller, a Navy SEAL, and a mountain climber before he started his ranch.
REAGAN: Wow. And I thought we were adventurous when we partied and got drunk every night.
Again, this exchange makes people laugh while it contradicts the stereotypes and establishes the Indian as a participant in modern society. Rather than fostering ignorance in the audience, it puts all the ignorance on the non-Indians. You don't take the Brinkleys seriously because the story itself challenges their beliefs.
Conclusion
That's how you do it, folks. The same amount of humor...about Indians, race, and culture...without using stereotypes as the humor's source.
Despite these complaints, Up All Night is one of the few good shows of the new season. It actually deals with awkward issues of race, class, and gender occasionally. That puts it ahead of most shows in that regard.
For more reviews of the new TV season, see Shaman in A Gifted Man, Sexy "Indian" in New Girl, and Murdering Indian of Ringer.
The next day, an Indian appears at their door. He identifies himself as Pete Littlebear and gives them the keys to his van.
He's wearing a vest and a bandana, so he looks like a stereotypical Apache. He speaks in a slow, sonorous voice, which is what passes for Native these days.
He's played by Eloy Casados, a veteran actor who's played Indians as well as Latinos before. I don't know Casados's heritage, but he may be Native or part Native.
The van
The van is painted copper and turquoise--you know, Indian colors. It has a dreamcatcher hanging from the rearview mirror. Littlebear says two of his children were born in it--on a birthing blanket--which kind of disgusts the Brinkleys.
Littlebear walks off before they can object to the sale. When they look again, he's vanished. They hear the eerie sounds of a flute and a screeching hawk, and see a hawk-like bird fly off. A bit stunned, Reagan says Littlebear has shapeshifted.
They take the van, intending to trade it in for a better vehicle. Chris says he tried to call Littlebear's daughter. He didn't quite understand, but thinks she said her father has been dead for 30 years.
How to do it right
This episode (titled New Car) isn't trying to poke fun at Indians, but it uses a number of stereotypes nonetheless. It partly plays on the Brinkleys' ignorance, which is fair game. But it's mostly evidence of the show's ignorance of Indians.
What do we learn? That Indians do crude things such as give birth in vans. That they can potentially shapeshift. That they're akin to spirits: ghosts of the past that still walk the earth.
Here's how the same scene could've gone:
REAGAN: So that's your rez wagon. Your NDN car. Fighting the good fight since Alcatraz and Wounded Knee.
PETE: Nah, I bought it from some hippie freaks three years ago.
PETE: I hope you don't mind a little blood in back.
REAGAN (shocked): You didn't perform any, um, sacrificial rite there, did you?
CHRIS: Reagan! That's a crude stereotype!
CHRIS: Your old lady didn't give birth there, did she?
PETE: Nah, I own a buffalo ranch in Arizona. I had to haul a few carcasses here, and they dripped.
REAGAN (squeamishly): Oh, well. That's a lot better.
See? That would be just as funny, if not a lot funnier. It would contradict the stereotypes while establishing the Indian as a modern businessman.
Littlebear the spooky Indian
CHRIS: Where'd he go?
REAGAN (nervously): You don't think he shapeshifted, do you?
They look around and see a dog, cat, squirrel, and bird that appear to be staring at them. Ominous but non-Native music plays in the background.
When they see a toy animal seemingly giving them the eye, they try to shake off their feeling of dread.
CHRIS: No, that's just another stereotype. I think.
REAGAN: Right. We're just being silly.
See? This plays on the Brinkeys' doubts and fears more directly. And it lessens the implication that the Indian actually shapeshifted.
REAGAN: Did you get hold of his daughter? What did she say?
CHRIS: Something about his being gone for 30 years.
REAGAN: He's been dead for 30 years?! Holy...spirit!
CHRIS: Not dead, gone. Apparently he was a rock 'n' roller, a Navy SEAL, and a mountain climber before he started his ranch.
REAGAN: Wow. And I thought we were adventurous when we partied and got drunk every night.
Again, this exchange makes people laugh while it contradicts the stereotypes and establishes the Indian as a participant in modern society. Rather than fostering ignorance in the audience, it puts all the ignorance on the non-Indians. You don't take the Brinkleys seriously because the story itself challenges their beliefs.
Conclusion
That's how you do it, folks. The same amount of humor...about Indians, race, and culture...without using stereotypes as the humor's source.
Despite these complaints, Up All Night is one of the few good shows of the new season. It actually deals with awkward issues of race, class, and gender occasionally. That puts it ahead of most shows in that regard.
For more reviews of the new TV season, see Shaman in A Gifted Man, Sexy "Indian" in New Girl, and Murdering Indian of Ringer.
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